Thomas R. Murren

HANOVER Thomas R. Murren, 85, died Saturday, December 7, 2013, at Hanover Hall Nursing Center. He was the husband of Marion A. (Sprenkle) Murren, to whom he was married 61 years. Born September 9, 1928, in Mount Pleasant Township, Adams County, he was the son of the late Caroline (Murren) Frederick. He was a lifelong member of Annunciation BVM Catholic Church in McSherrystown and served as a lector there for many years. He was a 1946 graduate of Delone Catholic High School. He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus Council 2551 in McSherrystown, the Holy Name Society, the Notre Dame Club of Gettysburg, a lifetime member of the former Centennial Fire Co., and a member of Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services. For many years, Tom was widely known as a left-handed pitching phenomenon for the Brushtown Bulldogs. Tom was a lifelong farmer on the family farm outside Brushtown, and moved his young family there to live upon the retirement of his grandmother, Rose Murren, in 1957. For 65 years, Tom served as a 4-H leader in Adams County, educating and inspiring future farmers of several generations. He was retired from the Hanover Bethlehem Steel and from Amerada Hess. Tom had many accomplishments in his life, but his greatest talent and the one that will be his legacy was that he treated every person he ever met with great kindness and respect. In addition to his wife, he is survived by seven children, Anthony J. Murren and wife, Joyce of McSherrystown, Angela R. Murren of Hanover, Wanda M. Murren and husband, Darrell F. Crabbs, Sr. of Spring Grove, Terrence P. Murren and wife, Patricia of New Oxford, Ann R. Murren and companion, Steven Carroll of Kenneth City, Fla., Barbara J. Garman and husband, Thomas of Carlisle, and Peggy C. Clowney and husband, John of Gettysburg; 17 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Edward Frederick of Rising Sun, Md., and James Baughman of Mechanicsburg; four sisters, Ruth Kirkum of La Plata, Md.m Mary Burke of Altoona, Jane Hopkins of Bellefonte, and Alice Sunseri of Tyrone. He was predeceased by two daughters, Kathryn M. Hippensteel and Susan E. Roth; two grandchildren, K. Benjamin Smith and April E. Clowney; and one brother, Richard Frederick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Annunciation Church, McSherrystown. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Tom will be carried to the church and cemetery aboard his beloved McSherrystown 1956 Seagrave fire engine. Relatives and friends will be received at Murphy Funeral Home, 501 Ridge Ave., McSherrystown, Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. with a prayer service at 8 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Annunciation Church, 26 N. Third St., McSherrystown, PA 17344; or to Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services, 5865 Hanover Road, Hanover, PA 17331. Condolences may be shared at www.murphyfuneralhomeinc.com